Sounding the Future: How Music is Evolving in the Digital Age - Industry Examples 1/2

Welcome to our newest episode of “Brands and Web3” where we explore the transformative impact of digital tokens and blockchain technology on music creation, distribution, and ownership. In this deep dive, we share real stories and highlight 24 groundbreaking examples from the industry, including innovative approaches by Spotify, Coachella, and Sound.xyz. These examples, split into two detailed articles (you can jump directly to part 2 here), showcase how NFTs enable artists and companies to engage with fans in novel ways, create new revenue streams, and bridge the traditional music industry with the dynamic digital age of Web3. Our goal is to demystify how NFTs are revolutionizing the music sector, fostering growth, enhancing fan engagement, and setting the stage for a futuristic era of music.

If you're intrigued by these stories, you'll find even more detailed insights and analyses in our comprehensive summary. This summary empowers brands and artists to enhance customer relationships, democratize asset ownership, and innovate music distribution. Click here to explore the summary and discover how NFTs shape tomorrow's music.

But before that, dive into the 24 compelling examples showcasing how big names and startups utilize Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) to revolutionize the music industry.

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Industry Examples - Part 1/2

1. American Idol

In April 2022, American Idol ventured into the NFT space by teaming up with Theta Network to create unique collectibles for fans in the form of digital trading cards. These NFTs are available through ThetaDrop, a marketplace known for its low-cost and environmentally friendly approach to digital collectibles. The initiative involves selling American Idol NFT Card Packs for $99, each containing a random NFT card featuring one of the top 14 contestants from the show's 20th season.

Collectors who gather the required number of contestant cards can earn various rewards as the competition progresses and contestants are eliminated. Rewards include an American Idol 20th Anniversary Animated Logo NFT, $TDROP tokens, exclusive American Idol NFTs, and VIP Bronze packages for ThetaDrop accounts. The grand prize for collectors who end up with the NFT Card of the winning contestant is an exclusive Winner's Ticket to Hollywood NFT, which can be traded for a physical ticket to Hollywood.

This initiative marks a significant step for American Idol in engaging fans in the NFT community and exploring the potential of digital collectibles in enhancing the viewer experience. By creating interactive NFT trading cards to celebrate the show's 20th season, American Idol aims to immerse fans more deeply into the Idol experience, allowing them to collect their favorite contestants' cards and follow their progress throughout the competition. This move by American Idol reflects the growing intersection of entertainment and blockchain technology, showcasing how traditional media brands are adopting innovative approaches to fan engagement and content monetization.

2. Warner Music

Warner Music Group (WMG) has been proactively embracing Web3 and NFT technologies to revolutionize the music industry and create new opportunities for artists and fans. Through strategic partnerships and initiatives, WMG is exploring various use cases for NFTs that go beyond traditional music distribution models.

Partnership with Splinterlands

One of WMG's notable ventures into the NFT space is its collaboration with Splinterlands, a blockchain-based gaming company. This partnership is aimed at developing Play to Earn (P2E) arcade-style games for mobile platforms, themed around WMG musicians and their work. Splinterlands, known for its fantasy-themed collectible card game, brings a formidable user base and experience in blockchain gaming to the table. This venture is significant as it combines music with gaming, offering multiple revenue streams for WMG artists and the label itself while enhancing fan engagement in an innovative way.

DJ Talent Contest in the Metaverse with The Sandbox

WMG is also collaborating with The Sandbox to host a DJ talent contest in the metaverse, showcasing its commitment to integrating music with cutting-edge digital experiences. This contest, organized by Spinnin’ Records (a WMG label), invites DJ talents worldwide to submit their demos, with winners having their tracks released by Spinnin’ Records and turned into NFT products. This initiative highlights WMG's effort to leverage the metaverse for talent discovery and promotion, providing a new platform for artists to showcase their work and engage with a global audience.

LGND Music Partnership

Further expanding its footprint in the NFT domain, WMG has partnered with LGND Music and Polygon to launch a marketplace that will offer songs as NFTs. This platform aims to provide an iTunes-like experience for Web3, enabling fans to purchase and interact with music NFTs. This move is pivotal as it not only offers a new revenue model for artists but also enhances fans' music experience by allowing them to own unique digital collectibles associated with their favorite artists.

Strategic Web3 Collaborations

WMG's strategic partnerships with companies like OpenSea and its involvement in projects like Rhythm City on Roblox and virtual events in The Sandbox underscore the company's vision for a digital-first future in the music industry. By embracing NFTs and blockchain technology, WMG is exploring new ways to connect artists with fans, democratize music distribution, and create immersive, interactive music experiences.

WMG's foray into NFTs and blockchain represents a significant shift in how music can be created, distributed, and experienced. NFTs offer a unique model for music ownership and distribution, enabling artists to monetize their work directly and offering fans the opportunity to own a piece of their favorite music. The integration of music with gaming and the metaverse opens up new avenues for fan engagement and artist promotion, potentially transforming the music industry landscape.

WMG's initiatives in the NFT space are not just about adopting new technologies but also about reimagining the music ecosystem to better serve artists and fans in the digital age. By pioneering these efforts, WMG is setting a precedent for the music industry to follow, highlighting the potential of Web3 technologies to enrich the music experience and create new economic models for artists and content creators.

3. Ticketmaster

Ticketmaster Debuts NFT-Gated Ticket With Avenged Sevenfold

Within Web3 communities, NFTs have been used as access passes for digital spaces and live events alike, serving up perks for holders. In March 2023, ticketing giant Ticketmaster brought token-gating to a much larger audience with the launch of a feature that lets artists offer up special access to concert and event tickets for eligible NFT owners.

Ticketmaster announced that the Ethereum NFT token-gating feature is live for artists, and it was developed in partnership with popular metal band Avenged Sevenfold, which has its own Deathbats Club NFT collection and tested the token-gating feature ahead of the full rollout.

4. Coachella

Coachella is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. It was co-founded by Paul Tollett and Rick Van Santen in 1999, and is organized by Goldenvoice, a subsidiary of AEG Presents.

"Sights and Sounds", "Desert Reflections", and "Coachella Keys" 

February 2022 saw the return of the Coachella Music and Arts Festival, following the cancellation of the last two events due to the Covid-19 pandemic. To mark its comeback, organizers created a range of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). While NFTs have generally been used to record the ownership of digital collectibles, Coachella NFTs aim to offer access to tangible real-world benefits such as lifetime passes to the event and access to exclusive areas and attractions.

The festival's organizers have partnered with cryptocurrency exchange FTX to build their own NFT marketplace. Through this, festival-goers will be able to purchase and trade from three initial series of tokens.

The first – the Coachella Keys Collection - was an exclusive set of 10 NFTs that confers lifetime festival passes on whoever owns them. Holders of these tokens also got VIP access to the various virtual events that Coachella is lining up, as it takes the brand into the metaverse.

Following this, two more NFT collections have been released. The Sights and Sounds collection is more in line with typical NFT offerings, consisting of 10,000 digital images and sounds from the festival. The more expensive Desert Reflections collection is linked to physical ownership of a limited-edition photobook commissioned to celebrate the festival’s 20-year history.

5. Billboard

Billboard ChartStars and Intel® Evo™ Collaborate for an Exclusive NFT Drop

Billboard, in collaboration with Intel® Evo™, embarked on a unique initiative to merge the realms of music and digital collectibles through the Billboard ChartStars platform. This partnership led to the release of the Intel® Evo™ VIP Pass, constituting a series of four NFT drops designed to provide fans with an elevated music experience. Each NFT in the series came with its unique utility, aiming to deepen fan engagement with the music scene through digital means.

The initiative kicked off with the first collectible being made available, marking a significant step towards integrating NFT technology within the music industry's fan engagement strategies. Holders of these NFTs were promised various perks, including membership to the Billboard ChartStars community and access to exclusive events and content. For instance, the initial NFT holders had the opportunity to RSVP for a special En Vivo performance, highlighting the tangible benefits and exclusive experiences these digital tokens could unlock.

Moreover, Billboard and Intel® Evo™'s collaboration featured additional drops tied to significant music events, such as Latin Music Week, offering attendees the chance to collect more NFTs and win unique rewards. This series culminated in a final drop, the Super Challenger NFT, which was available to those who had collected the earlier three NFTs, providing exclusive perks and the potential for an in-real-life (IRL) gift for top music enthusiasts.

This collaboration between Billboard and Intel® Evo™ showcases the innovative use of NFTs to enhance the music experience, offering fans not just a digital collectible but a gateway to unique music experiences and community benefits. The initiative was built on an eco-friendly blockchain platform, emphasizing sustainability in the burgeoning field of digital collectibles within the music industry.

Mastercard Artist Accelerator with Billboard

The Mastercard Artist Accelerator, launched in partnership with Billboard, aims to empower emerging artists by equipping them with the tools and knowledge necessary to navigate the digital music landscape, particularly focusing on Web3. This initiative culminated in a showcase where five global artists performed AI-infused tracks, which were then released as NFTs on the OneOf Marketplace. This endeavor not only highlights the potential for artists to carve out new revenue streams and establish a stronger online presence but also showcases the integration of artificial intelligence with music, offering a novel approach to music creation and distribution.

In summary, Billboard's involvement with NFTs through collaborations with Mastercard and Intel® Evo™ showcases the innovative potential of blockchain technology in the music industry. These initiatives not only provide new opportunities for artists to monetize their work and engage with fans but also highlight the transformative impact of Web3 technologies on the traditional music business model.

6. Spotify

Spotify, the music giant has entered the NFT space by starting to test a feature where artists can show their NFTs on their platform and it was only available to a small number of artists across the United States, this experiment was to see how artists can benefit from their NFT offerings via their profiles. Later in 2023, Spotify released their first token-gated playlists which were made available only for NFT users, this new feature was made available on Spotify for only several countries, mainly the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Denmark, and New Zealand. Many blockchain-based projects have started to utilize the feature such as Overload which is an NFT-based RPG mobile game that uses the “Creepz” NFTs to unlock exclusive playlists on Spotify and all the user had to do was connect their crypto wallet via MetaMask or Leader and they were granted access to the playlist.

Spotify's exploration into blockchain and NFTs represents a significant pivot towards embracing Web3 technologies within the music industry. This move is seen as a response to the growing discontent among artists regarding the traditional revenue models offered by streaming platforms, which are often criticized for providing minimal earnings to the creators. According to Saxo Bank's predictions, NFT music platforms could potentially disrupt major players like Spotify and Apple Music by offering a more equitable revenue-sharing model. This model would enable artists to directly monetize their creations and engage with their audience without the need for intermediaries, ensuring a fairer distribution of income.

The implications of Spotify's foray into NFTs and blockchain are far-reaching for the music industry. By adopting these technologies, Spotify can provide artists with innovative ways to monetize their work, offer exclusive content, and create unique fan experiences. This not only benefits the artists by providing them with a larger share of the revenue but also enhances the listener's experience by offering them a more intimate connection with the creators of their favorite music. The success of such initiatives could set a new standard for the music streaming industry, compelling other platforms to adopt similar technologies to remain competitive.

7. Brit Awards

Artist Of The Year NFTs

The BRIT Awards released its first-ever NFT collection comprising 250 “Artist Of The Year NFTs”. Significantly, the collection was so successful that all the NFTs were sold out within 30 minutes of its release.

BRIT Awards became the first UK award show to create and sell NFTs.

The NFT drops celebrated winners across 13 award categories including the Best New Artist, Mastercard Album of the Year, and four new genre awards.

Aside from that, owning NFTs gives holders the chance to win tickets to next year’s BRIT Awards.

The Artists of the Year NFTs were sold for £10 each on the NFT platform Serenade. Additionally, proceeds from the sale will go towards The BRIT Trust. This is a charity arm of The BRITs that aids organizations including The BRIT School and Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy, in promoting education and well-being through music.

The BRIT Awards announced the winners of 2022’s year on February 8th, at The O2 Arena in London. These include artists such as Adele, who won Mastercard Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Artist of the Year, as well as Olivia Rodrigo and Sam Fender.

8. Grammy Awards

The Recording Academy, which organizes The Grammy Awards, announced plans to release a series of NFTs over three years, starting in 2022. The NFTs are meant to celebrate the Grammy Awards, its nominees, and recipients, and feature designs by prominent crypto artists that incorporate the iconic Grammy Award. A portion of the proceeds from these NFTs is designated for the Recording Academy’s scholarship fund.

To facilitate the creation and sale of these NFTs, The Recording Academy partnered with OneOf, a Tezos-based NFT marketplace that is backed by Quincy Jones. OneOf offers a platform where NFTs can be purchased using cryptocurrencies as well as traditional payment methods like credit or debit cards.

The exclusive NFT collections debuted in early March 2022, headlined by artists like ThankYouX, Andre Oshea, and Emonee LaRussa, and offered buyers unique NFTs along with VIP access to Grammy events. This move illustrates the Recording Academy's commitment to embracing new technology to enhance the music industry's engagement and support for artists.  This initiative is part of a broader aim to help artists find new forms of creative expression and income generation, as well as to enhance fan interaction with the artists they admire.

9. Tomorrowland

Tomorrowland, a prominent music festival, has embraced NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) in a groundbreaking way, generating an impressive $2.2 million in revenue from NFT sales in August 2023. This move has revolutionized the festival experience, extending its impact beyond the event itself. Tomorrowland's NFTs offer fans more than just digital collectibles; they provide exclusive benefits like early access to performances and pre-sale tickets, creating a stronger sense of ownership and engagement. This has significantly redefined the engagement and experience for festival-goers, marking a paradigm shift in how festivals can leverage Web3 technology to enhance fan interactions and extend the festival's influence beyond its physical event.​

This innovative approach has attracted a growing number of super-fans and inspired other festivals, such as Unum Festival, EXIT Festival, and Bamboozle, to adopt similar NFT strategies. The rise of NFTs in the entertainment sector is reshaping the concept of festivals, making them more immersive and accessible, transcending traditional boundaries.

10. Melos Studio

Melos Studio is an innovative platform in the music industry that leverages blockchain technology and NFTs to create a unique ecosystem for musicians and creators. It operates with the vision of using NFTs to propagate musical inspiration without cultural boundaries, allowing creators to forge music NFTs from their inspirations. These NFTs, or "MusicBlocks," can evolve into other musical pieces, encouraging a dynamic creation process where music is not static but constantly changing and merging with other artistic expressions within the ecosystem.

At the heart of Melos Studio is a special forge technique designed to fuse musical inspirations from various genres, enabling the creation of unique and scarce music pieces. This process resembles a jam session where musicians from different backgrounds come together to create something new and exciting. Melos Studio facilitates this fusion through its platform, allowing for the creation of "Jam-Forge" sessions where multiple NFT holders can collaborate to produce new MusicBlocks. Additionally, there's a "SOLO NFT Forge" option for individual creators to alter the musical content of a purchased NFT into a new MusicBlock.

The platform is powered by an AI engine, Metis AI, which categorizes and forges different music files into new ones using a DNA Tree. This technology lowers the barrier to entry for creating new music and fosters an economy of fan-based music files. Melos Studio's native token, MELOS, is an ERC20 token that serves as the platform's governance token, with a total supply set at 1 billion tokens. The MELOS token plays a significant role in the platform's ecosystem, offering rewards for active participation and implementing a taxation system to support liquidity pools and token burn events.

Melos Studio is also pioneering a Web 3.0 content discovery mechanism to add value to its community by assisting creators in producing high-quality music content and making it easier for fans to access works of their choice. This mechanism is expected to leverage a Web 3.0 content recommendation algorithm, enhancing the platform's ability to deliver high-quality music content. With over 800,000 registered users and a strong following on social media, Melos Studio has positioned itself as a significant player in the NFT music marketplace, ranked among the top platforms on the Binance Smart Chain.

11. Bitsong

BitSong is a blockchain-based ecosystem designed to revolutionize the music industry by connecting artists, fans, and distributors. It offers a decentralized marketplace for music streaming, Fan Tokens, and NFTs (non-fungible tokens), all powered by the BTSG token.

Founded in 2018 by Angelo Recca, BitSong emerged from the need to address challenges in the digital music industry, such as ownership rights and fair royalty distribution. Initially planned on Ethereum, it later adopted a multi-chain approach with Cosmos. The main BitSong blockchain launched in 2020, with an aim to decentralize the music sector and offer a fair, transparent platform for artists and fans alike. BitSong aspires to become a primary reference in the music industry, addressing the traditional music streaming services' shortcomings in artist treatment and fostering a high-trust environment​

Key Uses of NFTs in BitSong:

• Digital Media Backing: Artists can create NFTs backed by music, art, video clips, and more, enabling them to monetize their digital content uniquely.

• Exclusive Releases: Music releases can be issued as limited-edition NFTs, offering exclusive content to fans and collectors.

• Memorabilia: NFTs serve as a new medium for autographs and signed photographs, providing a digital way for fans to collect memorabilia.

• Event Tickets: Concert tickets can be issued as NFTs, adding a layer of security and uniqueness to live event experiences.

• Cross-Marketing Opportunities: NFTs open up innovative marketing avenues, particularly in digital and virtual spaces.

• Environmental Responsibility: BitSong's proof-of-stake blockchain emphasizes sustainability and energy efficiency.

12. OnChainMusic

OnChain Music is a pioneering platform in the music industry that leverages blockchain technology for various purposes including music distribution, sync licensing, and NFT (non-fungible token) creation. Here's a summary of how OnChain Music is utilizing NFTs and other blockchain features

NFT Integration

• Creation of Digital Collectibles: OnChain Music enables artists to create unique digital collectibles, such as digital artwork, music, or exclusive access to products or services. These items are then tradable on the blockchain.

• Artist Support and Promotion: The platform assists artists in selling their NFTs by collaborating on marketing plans designed to engage and motivate fans as well as digital asset collectors.

Other Blockchain Features

• Web3 Sync Licensing: OnChain Music grants licenses for the use of music in the metaverse, blockchain platforms, and other mediums. This service is particularly targeted at content creators looking to use music in various digital spaces.

• Music Distribution: The platform distributes music not only to traditional platforms like Spotify and Apple Music but also to web3 music platforms. Artists retain 90% of their streaming mechanicals and have no upfront fees for distribution.

• Content ID Monitoring: OnChain Music tracks unauthorized uploads to platforms like YouTube, ensuring artists get paid even when their music is used without a license. This feature also offers DMCA-safe usage for Twitch streaming.

• Mastering Services: Before distributing music, OnChain Music ensures that tracks are mastered to commercial standards, maintaining high-quality audio for all releases.

• Payment Options: Artists can choose to get paid in cryptocurrency or USD for their streamed, downloaded, or licensed music.

• Diverse Music Catalog: The platform represents a wide range of music, boasting over 23,000 tracks from more than 1,000 artists, some of which are exclusively represented by OnChain Music.

• Real-Time Wallet Balances: Artists have access to an updated overview of their token balances from all the blockchain music sites they are involved with.

• Referral Program: There's also a referral program where individuals can earn $MUSIC tokens for referring new artists to the platform.

Aren’t these examples fascinating? The music industry is indeed embracing Web3 technology! And this was only the first half of all the examples we have gathered. Even more use cases await you in the second part of this article!